Gomushin Girl's Profile

Menstrual cups are good for reducing waste from tampons and pads, but they're NOT birth control. They will NOT stop you from getting pregnant.
Meanwhile, as women, we pee estrogen anyway. As long as we use toilets that eventually drain to sewers and thence to the wild waters, there will be an environmental impact. This impact is because we are female, not because we are using birth control ~ I'm always suspicious when somebody starts going on and on about how bad hormonal birth control is for the environment, because it often boils down to advice to stay away from what we generally know to be the most effective forms. "Women! Your selfish desire to not be pregnant is ruining the earth! Repent and go with something way less effective or way more expensive!"

Living overseas brings all kinds of variables, too . . . Korea, where I live, has two different rental systems. One method is to put down an extremely substantial deposit, ranging from about 50,000~100,000USD for a studio or one bedroom in Seoul. Friends of mine have a deposit of 800,000USD on their high-rise two bedroom in a satellite city about an hour from downtown Seoul. The upside is no monthly rent, and the entirety of the deposit gets refunded to you at the end of your lease. Bad side is that unless you've already got the cash, you have to get a loan from the bank - which is virtually impossible if you're not a Korean citizen.
The second method is to put down a not-quite-so-large but still substantial deposit, and pay monthly rent. For a studio apartment of about 350sq ft figure a deposit of 10,000-50,000USD and monthly rent of 350-1000USD, varying by neighborhood, size of apartment, size of your deposit, and the newness of the building. My apartment of 650 sq feet (shared with a roomate) is a little shy of 800USD with a deposit of about 20,000USD, located in a very quiet neighborhood just minutes from downtown.

I don't mind the suitcases, but I do think their mass makes the room seem unbalanced . . . perhaps bring back the original chair, and distribute the suitcases in other ways? One on a chair, a few stacked in another corner?
The other two areas of imbalance are the bed ~ I actually really like the fabric, but it's a busy pattern and there's already a lot going on in the room. Perhaps breaking it up with a large, single-color (red to match?) blanket? and secondly the artwork, which is a little too big for the space. I think the lamp solution you propose would be lovely, but you could also just change the white/patterned shade for another red one to match.
In any case, these are small quibbles for a lovely room.

If weight is a concern, I used a combination of smaller, transparent 3M hooks just above the window frame, and used some cute clip/hook combinations from a kitchenware shop to hang a very heavy piece of wool. It's got a really cute vibe, and probably wouldn't work in a formal situation, but has held up really well to heat and the weight of the material.

It depends entirely on how many people are in your household. I have a dishwasher in my kitchen, but with just me and a roomate and very few dishes, it's not worth it. By the time we'd have enough dishes to merit firing up the beast, we'd have not a single clean dish, bowl, or spoon in the house. We hand wash everything, and use the dishwasher to store large pots and pans.
On the other hand, when I'm home with my family, it makes perfect sense. There's enough dishes to cycle through, and with five people there's usually enough dirty dishes to run it every other day or so. Hand washing all those plates and bowls and pans would be an enormous amount of labor.

it looks so comfy, even with the cat destruction, I would save up to reupolster. You'll never find a couch that will have quite the same character.

I used to keep some of my books between bookends on the floor - untill I had a plumbing problem and a bunch of them ended up with water damage. It also gives bugs, rodents, and dust a great place to hide out . . .

These are probably best used seasonally or in conjunction with other pillows - as mentioned, they're quite heavy, and some people are allergic, so they don't make good guest bedding. In addition to being heavy, if they're not properly filled, the buckwheat will shift and you won't have the support you need. On the plus side, they're very cool to sleep on in the summer. I usually keep a small one on my bed, and use it under another pillow for extra height and support, or use it on top of a very firm pillow during the summer.

I bought an old "butgeoli" - a Korean drying/storage rack for calligraphy brushes (like this one: http://www.seohwa.net/ttmall/data/goods/images/2007584818/t_gr11.jpg ) and it works beautifully. Necklaces and rings hang from the pegs, bracelets go over the decorative end pieces, and earrrings on the lower rails. It's a lovely piece of small decorative furniture on its own, but I think it looks just as good and just as displayable even with my jewlery on it.

here here for the Korean radiant heat system (ondol)! Although I have to say that my rooms heat up noticably within half an hour of turning my system on, and are usually fully warm to my set temperature within an hour, so it's not so very slow. My apartment has wood veneer floors, so it looks quite stylish as well. Actually, the only drawback is that because of the wood, I can't lay out my clothes on the floor to dry them - a lovely trick that's usually possible on the oiled paper or vinyl floors in most Korean apartments. It was a great way to ensure toasty warm towels and pj's, and can add a little bit of humidity to dry winter air.